The Third Generation: Distinctively Mexican in the 21’* Century? by Ana Lydia Brooks A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2012, Ana Lydia Brooks Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du 1+1 Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-93522-4 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-93522-4 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. Canada What role does cultural identity play in architecture? Does contemporary architecture allow for expression of culture? Can the architecture of today reflect the history of a place and simultaneously situate itself in the 21 * century? This thesis opens up a positive relationship between culture and architecture and deems it necessary for a design to successfully root itself in the context of a place. In Mexico, culture is present in everyday life but Mexicans have long debated how to define their identity as a nation and have consistently used architecture as a medium of exploration. This thesis looks retrospectively at culture and identity throughout Mexican architectural history of the past century and critiques recent projects commissioned by Mexico’s National Council for Culture and the Arts. The findings of this research are applied to a proposed redesign of a traditional crafts market in Mexico City. Can the character of the Mexican culture inform this contemporary project? Author’s Note: The Mexican culture has always been a source of inspiration for me, especially through its colourful, folkloric artesanlas and its monumental pre-Hispanic architecture. Visiting my mother’s side of the family in Mexico City is always something I look forward to and each visit always brings new museums, monuments, and buildings to explore. One place I never miss paying a visit to, however, is the ‘La Ciudadela' Artesanlas Market - a truly unique shopping destination in Mexico City full of charm and creativity. It is easy to lose yourself in everything the market has to offer, which fortunately distracts many visitors from its unsightly architecture. When I decided to tackle this issue as my thesis topic, it soon became apparent that a lot of groundwork would be involved to prepare for any architectural intervention I would propose. Information about the land ownership debate that the Artesanlas Market is involved in was only accessible online in the form of newspaper articles, which very often contained few facts and much speculation. Most resources, including the newspaper articles required translation on my part from Spanish to English and are denoted as such in the bibliography. It also proved to be difficult to obtain any architectural drawings from the delegation Cuauhtemoc, the borough’s city hall equivalent, let alone a comprehensive site plan of the area. iii Getting information from CONACULTA was also a challenge because my emails and calls were mostly ignored, leaving me to base most of my information from their website and from media coverage. The two site visits that I made in October 2011 and February 2012 were key in the development of this thesis and allowed me to conduct one-on-one informal interviews with the vendors of the ‘La Ciudadela’ Artesanlas Market to get a real sense of their wishes for the market’s future and their opinions on what could be improved in the market. ft was also important to me to visit as many of the buildings that are mentioned throughout the thesis as possible. Experiencing the spaces allowed me to better understand the qualities of the architecture and its inspirations. I am grateful to the people who took the time to answer my questions, recount their personal accounts and experiences, and share some of their own documentation with me. iv Acknowledgements Thank you to the artisans of the La Ciudadela Mercado Artesanal. Your art and passion for the Mexican culture inspired this thesis. Special thanks to those who took the time to speak with me and answer my questions, in particular, many thanks to Sra. Yolanda Estrada Hernandez. I would like to thank my advisor Roger Connah, as well as the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs for partly funding my research trip to Mexico City in October 2011. A big thank you to my abuelitos and Tia Lucha, for their help with this thesis and their continual support. Thanks to Lety for always offering to take me all over Mexico City for my research. Above all, I am deeply grateful to my brother, Craig, my dad, and especially my mom. Thank you for your encouragement, help, support, and patience - I could not have done this thesis without you! v Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ii Author’s Note .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. v Table of Contents ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................vi PART ONE Prologue ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1 - Culture and Identity .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Immaterial Heritage ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................8 Culture in Mexico ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Culture Throughout Mexican Architectural History ...................................................................................................................................................12 Criticizing Critical Regionalism .........................................................................................................................................................................................14 The ‘Own’ and the ‘Foreign’ .............................................................................................................................................................................................16 Juan O’Gorman and Ciudad Universitaria ...................................................................................................................................................................... 18 Luis Barragdn: From Functionalism to Minimalism ...................................................................................................................................................... 22 Characteristics of Mexican Contemporary Architecture ...........................................................................................................................................26